3/24/11

Hello all, feedback from our AD1 assistant superintendent's visit was encouraging because sometimes the work we do does not always seem obvious. So when someone comes in and views us with a new perspective and gives praise, then we can feel that our hard work is not in vain. The upcoming walkthrough will be slightly different since it will be an instructional observation with written feedback. As the PSSA testing continues I know we will do our best to make our students believe they can achieve. Teachers of AP, let me know what you need in terms of additional preparation time, funds will be made available for before or after school prep sessions, as well as to support any new AP training. Final formal classroom observations will begin soon and I will also conduct end of year one on ones at that time. Stay positive!
Thank you
Dr. Chew

2/24/11

I KNOW IT HAS BEEN AWHILE SINCE A POST AND I APOLOGIZE...PLEASE LOOK AT YOUR RECENT HS PERFORMANCE TARGET SHEET REVIEW AND THINK ABOUT SUGGESTIONS THAT YOU FIRST DISCUSS IN GRADE GROUPS TOWARDS HOW WE CAN IMPROVE TO MEET ALL OUR TARGETS. ADDITIONALLY PSSA'S ARE UPON US AND AS WE FINISH OUR PREPARATIONS KEEP SUPPORTING EACH OTHERS EFFORTS. DURING OUR MARCH 2ND PD THOSE OF US ADMINISTERING AND PROCTORING THE PSSA'S WILL BE TRAINED.
THANK YOU

1/20/11

Look at your Benchmark results please.. in most areas they are not too bad however always room for improvement. Additionally, predictives are on the horizon, Ms.Thompson received information on the exam and will be sharing it shortly. PSSA prep continues and we are encouraging all 11th grade students to attend workshops for preparation.

CHEW

WELCOME BACK AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

JUST A FEW THINGS ON MY MIND
1-PSSA'S
2-ATTENDANCE
3-MIDTERMS
4-SENIORS AND PREPARATIONS
5-CSAP AUDIT
6-SNOW
7-FIRST ROUND OF FORMAL OBSERVATIONS COMPLETED
8-WALKTHROUGHS FEEDBACK ONGOING
9-UPDATE BULLETIN BOARDS
9-REMEMBER THE HS DIVISION HAS NOT BEEN HERE YET AND THEY ARE COMING !!

Adrienne Chew

1/1/11

12/17/10

Thank you all for what I know has been a good start to the school year. As we enter into a new year, and the second half of the school year, I want you to know that I listened intently to you during our one on ones and that we have tried to support your ideas and wishes to help create the type of professional learning community within Palumbo that we can all be proud of. I want to thank you all, and I look forward to the new year and to many more great things about to happen!
My Best to You for a Happy Holiday and Winter Break,
Adrienne Chew

12/2/10

Thank you admissions team for your support as we plow through all of the incoming applications. Thank you Ms. Thompson for all you do to support the school as a superb roster, art and AA person!! Thank you to Lee and Alverez who demonstrated what I hope all will show in January when our school has it's walkthrough...excellence!! Thank you to all my Dept. Chairs for your continued leadership!
Have a great weekend and week!
Dr. Chew

11/9/10

Congratulations to our new inductees in the National Honor Society and to our staff of Donnelly, Dyke, Tillman and Shust for a wonderful selection of NHS members and program.

All data is posted on the school net for both Predictive PSSA testing and Benchmark. I sent you all the final Annual School Report on our. Use that data also as a guide for planning and strategies as we must meet our targets! Thank you!

Dr. Chew

10/29/10

Please see the PD booklet for Nov. 2nd all have been assigned for the exception of our NTA. For those grade groups who are posting continuously thank you....Please look at the data on school net and in your classrooms, make the connections, develop the interventions, seek out the supports you need, differentiate the supports you deliver. Ultimately the success of every student is what we all want to witness. Our attendance has been steady and that is great..if they come we can build it!

Sincerely, Dr. Chew

On 10/20/10 during our half day professional development we will discuss the article "Flagged for Success" by Robyn R. Jackson, please read.

This article is from the October issue of Educational Leadership which is devoted to interventions that work.

Making Adolescence More Adult, The Old Way/The New Way, Solving Problems That Count, Kids Teaching Kids, Rigors and Rewards of Internships

Educational Leadership/Sept., 2010

Making Adolescence More Adult : Four R's

It is so important to make work relevant...remember to tell students specifically how and what they are doing/learning is relevant to their lives...High School can be successful when teachers are creative, show initiative and
persevere. The Four R's are water for the thirsty

Relevance
Real-World Feedback (not only from you but from experts)
Responsibility In Their School and Outside.. VOLUNTEERISM
Respect and Accountability (i.e. teens accompany their parent to report card conferences)

Joseph P. Allen and Claudia Worrell Allen

The Old Way/New Way: Digital Natives, Millennials, Net Generation

Embracing the power of new technology
Old Way: traditional literature circles, keeping notes/journals
New Way: add online discussion/literature circles: use technology to reinforce the old ways, post blogs-comment threads
Benefits for Students: connectedness, immediacy, quick reactions, highly social, expansiveness, alternative to traditional homework, equally distributed participation
Benefits for Teachers: virtual environment enabled teachers to listen in (read) on multiple conversations, more feedback from peers, less from teacher, point out great observations, prod to dig deeper, paper free
Stacy Kitis

Problem Solving That Counts

"Being the change they wish to see in the world"-Ghandi

Give our students a chance to be independent and creative, and they will surprise us... let them:

Create a Website
A video
A campaign
Volunteer at a shelter
Pursue legislative action

Dana H. Maloney

Kids Teaching Kids

Harness the Energy of Peer Instruction, kids teach each other to:

Sync
Tweet
Tag

So why can't they teach each other to:

Acquire content knowledge
Be Responsible
Be Empowered and Confident

Jackson, Johnson, Askia

Rigors and Rewards of Internships

Helping students carry out authentic work in professional setting related to their interests motivates students to work harder and to gain knowledge and skills.

Increases student engagement: skills, knowledge for life career, civic goals
Rigor, an alternative to AP courses students can learn from mentors
Equity, students from all backgrounds can have access to same experiences
School Culture, can keep the rhythm of senior year going and avoid the slump by meaningful work
Student Engagement, disruptive students can gain self control when working as assistants
Structure Internships, schools must provide support. Are they optional or mandatory? How can we schedule?
Connecting with community is essential to the growth and success of internship programs

Eliot Levine

Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself......- John Dewey

Make it Meaningful !

Educational Leadership/Sept., 2010

As a teacher once said ,"I never heard of a student not doing his work; its our work he's not doing." Cathy Vatterott

In a report on the 2009 High School Survey of Student Engagement (n=42,000) it looks at student answers to

if you have been bored in HS why?
Are you challenged academically in your classes?
Does your work in school contribute to your growth in thinking critically?
Writing, speaking effectively? Reading and understanding challenging materials? Learning independently? Acquiring skills related to work after high school? Solving real-world problems?

Respondents (66 percent) indicted they are bored at least everyday in class and indicated the kinds of work/activities that would engage them.
They rated starting with high engagement activities/instruction :

discussion and debate (61%)
group projects (60%)
projects and lessons involving technology (55%)
presentations (46%)
role plays (43%)
art and drama activities (49%)
lecture got "like not at all" at (44%)

Students also indicated that they enjoy discussion where there are no clear cut answers, (65%) and they would welcom the opportunity to be more creative in school
(82%)

Make it Meaningful !

5 Hallmarks of Good Homework (Vatterott 2009)

Task has clear academic purpose to stretch students to a new level (practice, checking for understanding, or applying knowledge or skills)
Task efficiently demonstrates student learning (diary, journals, posters, create video or game to demonstrate knowledge, contribute to blogs))
The task promotes ownership by offering choices and being personally relevant (create personal relationship between student and content)
The task instills a sense of competence-student can complete it without help (consider time based task i.e. do what you can in 50 mins.)
The task is aesthetically pleasing-appears enjoyable and interesting (differentiate assignments for appro. levels of difficulty for individual students/Sp.ed/ELL, presentation is everything, use of graphics, clip art, things that are visually uncluttered)

Meaningful HW should be purposeful, efficient, personalized, doable, and inviting. Remember students need to be able to communicate with teachers when they struggle with a task and can do so without penalty.

STUDENTS NEED TO:
BE FREE TO LEARN....MEANINGFUL LEARNING TASKS GIVE STUDENTS A CLEAR SENSE OF PROGRESS LEADING TO MASTERY

EVEN GENIUSES WORK HARD (Gifted Students)
Carol S. Dweck

Teach students to love challenges, to enjoy effort, to be resilient, and to value their own improvement
Develop a Growth Mindset which leads to not just to short term achievement but to long term success
A Growth Mindset Culture : Give Praise and Encouragement for the process they engage in and for the effort they apply, the strategy they used, or choices they make.
Fast learning is not always the best learning (PST makes us move but may not always be best? We have to decide!)

BUILDING A GROWTH MINDSET

Emphasize Challenge, Not "Immediate Success" .... requires no student to coast to success time after time but to stretch as we portray challenges as exciting and and fun while easy tasks are boring and less useful for the brain.
Try different strategies-like a detective solving a mystery, what new path/ What should we try next? This helps to gain insight into what a student knows or does not know.
Work that gives students a sense of improvement as a result of effort which will lead to progress and improvement over time.
Instead of a failing grade maybe a grade of "Not Yet" students are not ashamed of that grade because they know they're expected to master the material if not the first time then the next time.....
Keep the word YET in your vocabulary. When students say they don't like something or get something say, "YET" This habit conveys idea that ability and motivation are fluid.
NURTURE STUDENTS, PROVIDE CHALLENGING LEARNING TASKS AND MEANINGFUL WORK =LONG TERM SUCCESS

UP NEXT: Making Adolescence More Adult, The Old Way/The New Way, Solving Problems That Count, Kids Teaching Kids, Rigors and Rewards of Internships